Welted moccasin and method of making it



M y 1947- J. A. 'CORDEAU "2,420,466

WELTED MOCCASIN AND METHOD OF MAKING IT Filed April 24, 1946 Patented May 13, 1947 OFFICE VVIELTED MOCCASIN AND METHGD OF MAKING IT JosephA; Cordeau, Portland, Maine Application April 24, 1946, Serial No. 664,613

3 Claims.

1 This invention relates to shoemaking andconsists in a novel process of making moccasin type shoes. It includes within its scope the moccasin herein shown as produced by the practice of my novel process, and also a composite blank which contributes substantially to the convenience and economy of the process.

Moccasin type shoes have many advantages, particularly for children and youths, being roomy for the feet and soft in all areas of contact. Hereto-i'ore, however, they have been at a disadvantage in respect to manufacturing costs and production rate, principally because of the skill and hand work required. It has also been difficult to provide sufiicient body in the sole of a moccasin completely to protect the foot against discomfort caused by stepping upon small stones and the like. My invention not only remedies these objections but provides a moccasin type shoe of new and improved type.

Going more into detail, the process of my invention is characterized by the steps of first providing a moccasin blank, then shaping a welt strip to the outline of the desired sole and sewing the strip to the blank while both are maintained in a flat condition, then lasting the blank and thus bringing the welt strip into position adjacent to the margins of the last, and finally sewing an outsole to the welt strip. The moccasin blank may be of such shape as to form the whole of the upper, or it may be supplemented by a counter or foxing blank in completing the moccasin. Preferably, however, the blank will be coextensive with the shoe bottom so that the outline to be followed by the welt may be completely included within its contour. The operation of stitching the welt in place may be easily and quickly effected with the assistance of any straight needle sewing machine while the parts are maintained in flat condition, thus contrasting very favorably with the usual welt sewing operations which can be carried out only with'the assistance of complicated machinery and skilled operators.

Having secured the welt to the fiat moccasin blank, the blank may be now lasted as easily as if no welt were present and in this operation the welt is brought into position adjacent to the margins of the last, the welt remaining in its initial fiat condition while the upper is curved away from it and into conformity with the side walls of the last. It will be noted that the welt is originally shaped, stitched and maintained throughout the entire process in the flat condition which is desired for attachment to the outsole, and thus my improved process compares very favorably with those heretofore carried out in which a, troublesome welt sewing operation has been required.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred manner of carrying out the process, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the moccasin blank,

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the composite blank formed by attaching the welt,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and o en enlarged scale,

Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the bottom of the lasted shoe,

Fig. 5 is a view in cross section on the line 55 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a View in perspective of the finished shoe.

As herein shown, the first step of the process consists in providing a full moccasin blank It. This may be died out at a single operation from heavy upper leather and corresponds in outline to a full length vamp but includes also therein the sole area. It has an inwardly tapering slot l l which opens through its rear end and extends forwardly into the shank portion of the blank. The outline of the sole may be indicated on the surface of the blank ID by a crease line I2. This may be placed upon the grain surface of the blank with the assistance of a pattern, or it may be formed by a marker provided in the die for cutting the blank.

The next step in the process consists in attaching a welt strip l3 to the surface of the vamp l0 and simultaneously conforming it to the desired sole shaped pattern as indicated by the line [2. Preferably and as herein shown, the welt strip is provided with a groove as usual adjacent to its inner edge and as herein shown it is attached by a stitch line M. This welt sewing operation may be easily and rapidly performed with the assistance of a straight needle machine while both the blank and Welt are maintained in flat condition and therefore may be conveniently handled. The sole shaped pattern of the attached welt lies substantially within the marginal edge of the blank It. The rear ends of the welt are disposed upon opposite sides of the slot M. It will be understood that the welt I3 is secured at its inner edge to the surface of the blank I0 and that its outer edge is free to be later separated from contact 3 with the blank. The composite blank provided in the manner above described and shown in Fig. 2, constitutes of itself a step product of my invention and is useful in the shoemaking industry as an article of manufacture in itself.

Having completed the blank shown in Fig. 2, it is now ready to be assembled upon a last l5. The inner end of the slot H is drawn together by stitches 16 in order to narrow the blank in the shank portion of the shoe and in this step the rear ends of the welt are drawn inwardly. In the lasting operation the marginal portion of the blank is brought into conformity with the side walls of the last; that is to say, these portions of the blank are bent upwardly away from the welt l3 which is left in substantially fiat condition as an element of the shoe bottom together with that portion of the blank I which lies within the contour of the welt. As clearly suggested in Fig. 5, the welt l3, which has been attached in flat condition, remains always in flat condition and thus is presented in the most favorable shape for eventual attachment to the outsole without the necessity of any welt turning or welt beating operation. In Fig. 5 the usual plug i? is shown as being stitched in place between the side walls of the blank [0. The operation of incorporating the plug in the upper may be carried out in the conventional manner and forms no part of my invention. Similarly, the rear end of the shoe may be closed by uniting the rear ends of the blank and, if desired, covering them by an ornamental or reinforcing foxing blank 18,

Having completed the shoe bottom to the stage shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the shoe may be completed by attaching an outsole Hi to the shoe bottom preferably by means of the usual outseam passing through the outer portion of the welt and the outsole. The shoe is thus provided with a bottom of substantial thickness and may be worn with great comfort. When repair becomes necessary, the outsole may be severed by cutting the stitches of the seam 29 and replaced with all the convenience of a Goodyear welt shoe.

It will be noted that the shoe herein described is made wtihout an inner sole and is therefore lighter and more flexible than standard welt shoes heretofore known in which it is the practice to employ an inner sole to which the welt is attached. By the present invention I am enabled to get all the advantages of a welt shoe from the standpoint of re-soling, without stiffening the shoe bottom by combining an inner sole and an outsole in laminated relation.

Having thus disclosed my invention and illustrated in detail a preferred embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The process of making moccasin-type shoes which includes the steps of attaching and shaping a welt strip in fiat condition to the outline of the sole of a fiat moccasin blank, covering the bottom of a last with said blank, bending the margins of the blank away from the welt and into conformity with the Wall of the last, and securing an outsole to the welt strip.

2. The process of making moccasin-type shoes which includes the steps of providing a moccasin blank having the outline of a full length Vamp including the sole area of the shoe and having a slot extending inwardly from its rear edge into its shank portion, attaching a welt to the surface of the blank in fiat condition and in a soleshaped pattern with each of the rear ends of the welt spaced between the said slot and its corresponding side edge of the blank, stitching the sides of the slot together and thereby drawing inwardly the welt in the shank portion of the shoe, then lasting the composite blank thus formed and thereby bending the margins of the blank upwardly and away from the Welt, and sewing an outsole to the welt.

3. A composite blank for use in the manufacture of moccasin-type shoes, comprising a flat full moccasin blank having the outline of a full length vamp including the sole area and having an inwardly tapering slot opening through its rear edge, and a welt strip conformed to the outline of a sole and secured in flat condition to said blank with its ends spaced on the sides of the said slot.

JOSEPH A. CORDEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,959,892 Anderson May 22, 1934 1,389,376 Obie Aug. 30, 1921 1,989,970 Carpenter Feb. 5, 1935 2,186,141 LaChapelle Jan. 9, 1940 

